Lewis Hamilton has spoken out against the idea of Mercedes supplying engines to Red Bull next year, saying his bosses should not do if it they were 'serious' about winning in Formula 1.

Red Bull is pushing for a switch to Mercedes power units for next year, after making it clear to Renault that it wanted an early exit from its 2016 deal with the French car manufacturer.

But while the future of Renault in Formula 1 remains uncertain, ahead of crunch meetings that may give a final green light to a takeover of Lotus, Hamilton insists whatever happens Mercedes should not align itself with one of its main on-track competitors.

When asked by media in Italy about if it would be a good idea for Mercedes to supply Red Bull with engines, Hamilton said: "If we are serious about winning the world championship, probably not.

He added: "We don't really need it. There is no financial benefit. We are good where we are."

Williams also against

Hamilton is not the only one not positive about a potential alignment of Mercedes and Red Bull.

Williams, which has enjoyed a resurgence in form thanks to its switch to Mercedes at the start of last year, said it would not be too thrilled at the prospect.

When asked for her thoughts about the idea, Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams said: "Not great, to be honest... it doesn't fill me with much joy, or anyone at Williams.

"At the moment we are ahead of Red Bull, but Red Bull are never going to be down for too long.

"We need to make sure that if they do get a Mercedes engine , then that's fine. We will have to deal with it; and that is a conversation between Red Bull and Mercedes that we have no influence over whatsoever.

"We therefore will just have to produce a better chassis than Red Bull. I don't believe that just because a Red Bull is powered by Mercedes it would absolutely jump ahead of us: it is down to us to build a better chassis than them."